Prevent Evictions Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6768 To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award grants for landlord-tenant mediation programs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 8, 2020 Mr. TED LIEU of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop- ment to award grants for landlord-tenant mediation pro- grams. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent Evictions Act 4 of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘‘covered 8 grant’’ means an implementation grant or program 9 expansion grant. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6768 IH (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 1 ty’’ means a State or a court thereof, a political sub- 2 division of a State or a court thereof, a Tribal gov- 3 ernment, or any other appropriate public or non- 4 profit entity as determined by the Secretary, that is 5 formulating or carrying out a program that pri- 6 marily involves meditation between landlords and 7 tenants. 8 (3) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The term ‘‘im- 9 plementation grant’’ means a grant awarded under 10 section 5(b). 11 (4) PROGRAM EXPANSION GRANT.—The term 12 ‘‘program expansion grant’’ means a grant awarded 13 under section 5(c). 14 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 16 (6) SMALL-DOLLAR EVICTION.—The term 17 ‘‘small-dollar eviction’’ means an eviction resulting 18 from an eviction case brought against a tenant for 19 nonpayment of rent in which the unpaid amount is 20 less than 1 month’s rent. 21 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 22 Congress finds the following: 23 (1) Landlords often make their largest profit 24 margins in low-income neighborhoods. This is in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6768 IH part due to the difference between the perceived risk 1 of low-income tenants defaulting on their rent and 2 the actual risk. 3 (2) A significant proportion of eviction money 4 judgments—in some jurisdictions, potentially more 5 than 40 percent—are for less than 1 month’s rent, 6 based on median rent per census tract. 7 (3) According to the book ‘‘Evicted: Poverty 8 and Profit in the American City’’ by Matthew 9 Desmond, families and individuals who are evicted 10 are more likely to experience a decline in mental and 11 physical health, have poor attendance in school, and 12 have more trouble holding a job. 13 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 14 It is the sense of Congress that— 15 (1) landlord-tenant mediation is a valuable and 16 cost-effective way to keep tenants in their homes, 17 and more investment in that type of mediation is 18 warranted; 19 (2) there is a lack of research on the potential 20 for certain types of insurance to be cost-effective 21 interventions that keep tenants in their homes, 22 which warrants future study; 23 (3) eviction should be a last resort; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6768 IH (4) reducing the number of small-dollar evic- 1 tions will produce a substantial return on investment 2 for individuals and families and for society as a 3 whole. 4 SEC. 5. LANDLORD-TENANT MEDIATION COMPETITIVE 5 GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award com- 7 petitive grants under subsections (b) and (c) to eligible 8 entities to assist those entities in establishing and admin- 9 istering, or continuing, landlord-tenant mediation pro- 10 grams. 11 (b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 13 competitive grants to eligible entities to assist the 14 entities in establishing and administering landlord- 15 tenant mediation programs. 16 (2) TERM.—The term of an implementation 17 grant shall be 2 years. 18 (3) AMOUNT.—The amount of an implementa- 19 tion grant shall be not more than $1,500,000. 20 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use 21 an implementation grant to establish— 22 (A) a statewide mediation program; or 23 (B) a mediation program in a political sub- 24 division of a State or in the jurisdiction of an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6768 IH Indian Tribe that demonstrates a high need for 1 such a program due to— 2 (i) the rate of evictions in the political 3 subdivision or Tribal jurisdiction; or 4 (ii) other characteristics of the polit- 5 ical subdivision or Indian Tribe that con- 6 tribute to the rate of evictions in the polit- 7 ical subdivision or Tribal jurisdiction. 8 (5) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 9 the cost of a mediation program established using an 10 implementation grant may not exceed 50 percent. 11 (c) PROGRAM EXPANSION GRANTS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 13 competitive grants to eligible entities to assist the 14 entities in continuing activities related to landlord- 15 tenant mediation. 16 (2) TERM.—The term of a program expansion 17 grant shall be 3 years. 18 (3) AMOUNT.—The amount of a program ex- 19 pansion grant shall be not more than $1,000,000. 20 (4) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 22 graph (B), amounts made available to an eligi- 23 ble entity under a program expansion grant 24 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6768 IH contributions made by the eligible entity for ex- 1 isting landlord-tenant mediation activities. 2 (B) REDUCTION OF EXISTING FUNDING.— 3 To the extent that amounts from a program ex- 4 pansion grant are used to replace funding for 5 existing landlord-tenant mediation activities 6 that is reduced for reasons beyond the control 7 of the eligible entity, such use shall not be con- 8 sidered supplanting of amounts contributed by 9 the eligible entity for purposes of subparagraph 10 (A). 11 (d) GENERAL RULES FOR COVERED GRANTS.— 12 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use 13 a covered grant to pay for operating costs, staff sal- 14 aries, mediator compensation, information tech- 15 nology, interpreters, outreach services, and recruit- 16 ment. 17 (2) GOOD FAITH PARTICIPATION.—An eligible 18 entity that receives a covered grant shall encourage 19 each party participating in the landlord-tenant medi- 20 ation program funded by the grant to make a good 21 faith effort to discuss potential resolutions. 22 (3) GEOGRAPHIC AND POPULATION DIVER- 23 SITY.—The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6768 IH extent practicable, that recipients of covered grants 1 represent— 2 (A) diverse geographical areas of the 3 United States; and 4 (B) States, political subdivisions of States, 5 and Indian Tribes of varying population sizes. 6 (4) FREE TO TENANTS.—A tenant may not be 7 charged for participating in landlord-tenant medi- 8 ation funded by a covered grant. 9 (e) OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.—For each year of 10 a covered grant received by an eligible entity, the eligible 11 entity shall submit to the Secretary a report that— 12 (1) describes how the eligible entity used the 13 grant funds during that year; and 14 (2) includes any performance data, relating to 15 programs funded by the covered grant, that the eli- 16 gible entity submitted to a State or political subdivi- 17 sion thereof, if applicable. 18 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 20 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020 and 21 each fiscal year thereafter. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6768 IH SEC. 6. STUDY AND DEMONSTRATION OF EVICTION-PRE- 1 VENTING INSURANCE MODELS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 4 study, and submit to Congress a report on— 5 (1) insurance models designed to reduce evic- 6 tions or expand access to rental opportunities for 7 tenants, such as rental payment insurance; 8 (2) the cost of various insurance models de- 9 scribed in paragraph (1); and 10 (3) the effects of various insurance models de- 11 scribed in paragraph (1) on tenants, landlords, and 12 housing markets. 13 (b) OBJECTIVES.—In conducting the study under 14 subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to— 15 (1) better understand insurance models de- 16 scribed in that subsection that are not widely avail- 17 able in the United States; 18 (2) assess the viability of the insurance models 19 in United States markets and how the insurance 20 models could be implemented through private, pub- 21 lic, or subsidized programs; 22 (3) determine whether insurance models in 23 which the insurance policy is purchased by the ten- 24 ant, the landlord, or a public entity would be most 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6768 IH effective in achieving the objectives under this sub- 1 section; 2 (4) study any existing relevant insurance pro- 3 grams and the effectiveness of those programs, both 4 domestically and internationally; 5 (5) study how Federal mortgage insurance pro- 6 grams could help inform the structure or breadth of 7 the insurance models; 8 (6) study how the insurance models could be 9 structured in order to best prevent evictions, par- 10 ticularly small-dollar evictions; 11 (7) study how to structure the insurance models 12 in order to prevent moral hazard; 13 (8) study the potential for the insurance models 14 to serve as a bridge for tenants between— 15 (A) participating in more cost-intensive, 16 longer-term housing programs, such as public 17 housing under the United States Housing Act 18 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) or rental as- 19 sistance under section 8 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 20 1437f); and 21 (B) leaving the programs described in sub- 22 paragraph (A) entirely; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6768 IH (9) study how the insurance models could be 1 tailored to target or benefit lower-income families or 2 vulnerable renters; and 3 (10) study the extent to which the insurance 4 models could be paired with landlord-tenant medi- 5 ation efforts. 6 (c) RESULTS OF STUDY.— 7 (1) REPORT.—The Secretary shall include in 8 the report under subsection (a)— 9 (A) a description of any insurance models 10 that— 11 (i) have the strongest potential to 12 achieve the objectives under subsection (b); 13 and 14 (ii) could be tested through a dem- 15 onstration project; and 16 (B) a proposal for a demonstration project 17 to test the most promising insurance model de- 18 scribed in subparagraph (A). 19 (2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT PRIORITY FOR 20 GRANT RECIPIENTS.—In selecting the jurisdiction in 21 which to conduct the demonstration project proposed 22 under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall give pri- 23 ority to jurisdictions served by a recipient of a cov- 24 ered grant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6768 IH (3) BUDGET REQUEST.—After submitting the 1 report under subsection (a), the Secretary shall in- 2 clude in the first annual budget request that the 3 Secretary submits to Congress under section 1105 of 4 title 31, United States Code, a request for funds for 5 the demonstration proposal described in paragraph 6 (1)(B). 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6768.IH H6768 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS